3. A Review of Authority Church of Christ at Medina February 10 th, 2013

4. What is authority? Authority is… …the freedom, right or power to act. “It is the power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, take action or make final decisions.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary) Authority is needed … …in the home. …at school. …at work. …in society.

5. God is the ultimate authority!! Our lesson is based upon the assumption that we already believe in God. Based on this assumption, we believe that God is… 1.Omniscient Psalm 147:5 2.Omnipresent Psalm 139:7-12 3.Omnipotent Luke 1:37 4.The Creator of All Things. Romans 9:20-21 Isaiah 64:6-8 Nehemiah 9:6

6. God is the ultimate authority!! Because of these attributes, God has the right… 1.…to rule. Psalm 2:6-9 2.…to bless. Romans 13:3-4: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.(ESV) John 17:2 – “since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.” (ESV) 3.…to judge. John 19:10 – “So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” (ESV) John 5:26-29

7. God is the ultimate authority!! 1.God is the ultimate authority, but He still allows man to choose. James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” Psalm 119:108 – “Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules.” 2.God wants us to submit to His will because He wants to bless us. II Peter 3:9 Isaiah 55:6-7: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (ESV) Ezekiel 18:30-32

8. How has God revealed His will? 1.God must tell us His will. 1 Corinthians 2:11 – “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him?” Isaiah 40:27-28: “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?’ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.” (ESV) 2.It is not possible for us to think like God or for Him. Psalm 139:6 Isaiah 55:8-9

9. How has God revealed His will? 1.In times past, God revealed His will in various ways. Numbers 12:1-9: “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all My house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (ESV) Hebrews 1:1-4: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (ESV)

10. How has God revealed His will? 1.God had promised to send a special messenger. Deuteronomy 18:18 Acts 3:22 2.God gave witness to Jesus. Mark 9:2-8 3.Jesus confirmed to us that He was speaking the will of God. Matthew 11:27 John 8:26 John 12:49 John 14:10,24 John 17:8

11. How has God revealed His will? 1.Jesus, then, has all authority because of who He is and because of what God has given Him. Matthew 9:6 – “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He then said to the paralytic— “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”(ESV) Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(ESV) Jude 24-25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (ESV)

12. Conclusion 1.Authority is needed in every area of life, and it is especially needed in religion. 2.Authority is the freedom, right of power to act. 3.God is the ultimate authority in all things, but especially as it relates to worship and service to Him. He has the right to rule, bless and judge. 4.We can only serve and worship God acceptably if we follow what He reveals. He reveals His will for us today through His Son – Jesus Christ.